many communities in Michigan have charged administrative fees for years.

fun fact, the vast majority of local property taxes collected do not go to the local community, they are passed to the varying school districts, State Education Trust, and County Government.

the channeling, managing, and investing of those funds takes a toll on local Government resources - especially when most constituents vote 'no' on funding local Government unless it's public safety holding a proverbial gun to their head.

here's something else to think about.

have any idea what the palace of auburn hills is worth? have any idea what it cost to build? those two numbers are very widely spread. have any idea on what the property taxes are actually calculated on?

have any idea how much money it costs to hire an expert appraiser to evaluate said property, and/or then hire an attorney to litigate the property tax appeal against the likes of Michael Shapiro in the Michigan Tax Tribunal?

In case you didn't know, Mr. Shapiro and his group's services are the single largest revenue generator for the firm Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn.

When he comes to town he will "prove" that large/complex facilities that literally have hundreds of millions invested in infrastructure are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and thus should be taxed on that lower amount.

he often wins, or at least gets consent judgments that split the difference - in part because there's no funding for property tax administration because people would rather vote for public safety millage and want property tax assessments and collections to be done on shoe-string budgets